The ultimate guide to Canadian carrier unlocking fees

The phrase still takes many Canadians by surprise. They were told that after they paid out the value of their smartphone over the span of a two-year contract they would own it — but generally ownership means the freedom to do what you like with your property, and ‘locked’ denotes restriction. The two ideas are contradictory.

In reality, once Canadians pay off their subsidized devices they are only free to use those devices on the carriers that sold them. Shopping around to other carriers requires the payment of another fee, the unlocking fee that caused so much debate at the Wireless Code Review in February.

So what’s the story behind unlocking and just how much is it going to cost you? Read on to find out.

What are unlocking fees and why do they exist?

SIM locks are a restriction built into devices by manufacturers, generally at the behest of service providers. SIM locks can be used to lock the device to a particular country, network or mobile subscriber identification number. Most phones can be unlocked, though the original branding and some firmware from the carrier may remain.

The basic idea behind keeping phones locked is to enforce the payment of a device subsidy over two years. The theory is that locking keeps users at their carriers after they purchase a device at a subsidized rate (for instance, $200 down on a $900 phone) rather than just taking the device and leaving behind the bill in order to snag a cheaper, non-subsidized plan rate at another carrier.

There are many holes in this argument, however, the first being that the Wireless Code introduced new rules in 2013 that carriers must provide unlocking services after 90 days. The subsidy amount remains high 90 days into the contract, giving fraudsters ample opportunity to profit off the device — the very abuse that unlocking fees aim to protect against.

Additionally, third-party unlocking services exist that render the entire argument null. The simple fact is that the majority of Canadians would rather not take the credit hit of abandoning their bills, while those who don’t mind can easily find a way to do so with or without the help of the carrier.

Will they continue to exist?

At the review of the Wireless Code held in February in Gatineau, Quebec, Freedom Mobile (formerly Wind) voiced dissatisfaction with the practice of mobile phone unlocking fees. It suggested that Canada’s telecom regulator, the CRTC, take the “bold step” of doing away with unlocking fees and directing carriers to order unlocked devices from manufacturers.

The Consumers’ Association of Canada, the Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of British Columbia, National Pensioners Federation, and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (banding together to form the ‘Coalition’) agreed.

For his part, CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais suggested that unlocking fees should be available at a fixed price far below the average charge of $50 CAD.

Meanwhile, the CRTC released aggregated data that showed Canadian telecoms made $37.7 million CAD on unlocking revenue in 2016, generating press and significant public criticism. It’s unknown how much it costs carriers to unlock devices.

It’s also unclear whether or not the unlocking fee will survive much longer, due to its current unpopular position in the eye of the public and the front and centre slot it took during the recent Wireless Code Review. For now, however, MobileSyrup has aggregated the costs and guidelines related to unlocking at Canadian carriers, along with statements on the subject from several of Canada’s largest carriers.

Unlocking fees by Canadian carrier

Bell

Fee: $50, or $150 if your account carries a security deposit or is subject to a credit limit.

Guidelines: Can be requested in-store or by phone.

Comment: “The Wireless Code requires wireless service providers to disclose their unlocking fee when a customer is signing up for service. In a competitive marketplace, this information helps consumers make informed decisions about all aspects of their wireless service.

Wireless carriers do incur costs to unlock a device, and the wait period before unlocking subsidized devices is required to detect both fraud and non-payment by customers. Customers purchasing their device outright, or bringing their own device, can request to have their device unlocked at any time.”

Virgin

Fee: $50, or $150 for phones under contract and subject to credit conditions like a credit limit or credit deposit. Former Virgin Mobile members $75 + applicable taxes.

Comment: “In an effort to help consumers make informed decisions about all aspects of their wireless service before hooking up, Virgin Mobile discloses its unlocking fee to Members when they’re signing up. This is also a requirement in the Wireless Code that impacts all wireless service providers. There is a cost incurred by the wireless carriers to unlock a device, as well as a required wait period before unlocking subsidized devices to detect both fraud and non-payment. However, Members who purchase their phone outright, or bringing their own, can request to get their phone unlocked at any time.”

Rogers

Fee: $50.

Guidelines: Can be requested in-store, by phone, via email or live chat. To unlock your device, your account must be in good standing and active on your Rogers account for at least 90 days or purchased at the no-term price.

Comment (on behalf of Rogers and Fido): “Fraud is a cost ultimately borne by all consumers. A locked device reduces the attractiveness to would-be thieves who need an unlocked phone to sell it on the open market. If a customer chooses to unlock their device, our specially trained customer care representatives will walk them through the process. Our unlocking fee goes towards the cost of managing the database and related administrative processes.”

The company also reports that all phones come to it locked and that a substantial portion of its recorded unlocking charges since 2013 occurred on accounts that are now cancelled with an outstanding unpaid amount.

Fido

Fee: $50.

Guidelines: Your account must be in good standing and must be 90 days past activation on a subsidized agreement or registered on your account if purchased outright with no term. If you purchased your device from a third party, it must have been registered in your account more than 90 days ago.

Telus

Fee: $50 but may vary depending on service agreement.

Guidelines: Device is not flagged as lost or stolen, for a subsidized device with a device balance, it must be active on the Telus network for a minimum of 90 days. For a device purchased outright or without an outstanding Device Balance, no restrictions (the device can be unlocked immediately by paying the applicable fee). For postpaid accounts, the account must be active. For prepaid accounts, there must be a credit balance available to cover the unlocking fee.

Comment: “Telus was the first national wireless carrier to offer unlocking, based on customer input that some wanted the option. Clearly it is a choice Canadians are taking advantage of, which speaks to just how competitive Canada’s wireless market is. Unlocking is just one of dozens of changes we have made since 2009 based on customer input, such as re-writing contracts in plain language and replacing contract cancellation fees with device balances. We offer unlocking at a modest fee, taking into account the costs of providing this very manual service.”

Koodo

Fee: $50.

Guidelines: Your account must be active and in good standing with no negative Tab balance and active on the network for at least 90 days. Prepaid phones must have enough credit to pay for the unlocking fee. CDMA phones cannot be unlocked.

Freedom Mobile

Fee: $30.

Comment: “Freedom Mobile currently charges $30 to unlock phones. We came to that number because there are operational costs — it’s a relatively complicated process and the customer generally has to call our call centre twice when they want to unlock their phone. If phones were unlocked for the entire industry, that operational cost would no longer exist.

For us, it’s a competitive risk to be the only carrier who unlocks phones for free. Without an unlock fee we could become the target of other carriers targeting our customers to switch to them, but we wouldn’t have that same opportunity to attract customers to us. That’s why we feel this needs to be an industry initiative. It creates a level playing field, with customers winning. To us, it seems that industry-wide unlocked phones provide a better solution than having the CRTC regulate the rates and rules for unlocking.

The combination of operational costs and competitive reasons is why we charge the $30 fee. We continue to be, by far, the carrier with the least expensive unlocking fees.”

Videotron

Fee: $50 fee will appear on your next billing statement.

Guidelines: If you don’t have a Videotron account, you must pay in-store. The phone must have been sold by Videotronthe unlock code applies to mobile phones and mobile Internet devices (where possible).

Your account must be in good standing. If subsidized, it must be active for at least ninety days or if purchased at retail price it must be registered to your account. The device must not have been declared lost or stolen.

• Customer support for those customers requiring further assistance to complete the unlock successfully.”

The carrier also notes, on the subject of customers benefiting from an unlocked device: “Customers usage habits and needs will vary from one customer to the next. The importance of an unlocked device and subsequent benefits recognized will also vary. Not every customer desires or has a need to have an unlocked device.”

MTS

Fee: $50.

Guidelines: Current and prior MTS customers are eligible to unlock if their account is in good standing and has no outstanding balance.

Devices that are subsidized must be at least 90 days into their current wireless contract and off contract devices must have no outstanding balance on their current or cancelled account. If no active account exists user must provide device Bill of Sale. Prepaid customers need an account balance of at least $50. Device must not be not listed as lost or stolen.

Eastlink

Fee: $50.

Comment: The east coast regional carrier pointed MobileSyrup towards its comments made during the Wireless Code Review, which state that it supports comments filed by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) on the Coalition’s proposal regarding (among other things) unlocking devices prior to the end of the 90-day period for subsidized devices.

Those comments, made on the 16th of November, 2016, take an opposing view to much of what is proposed by Freedom and the consumer interest groups advocating for abolishing unlocking fees, stating: “Today’s smartphones can retail for more than $1,000 and device subsidies routinely exceed $500.

Service providers need to protect themselves against fraud and losses when issuing contracts and when unlocking devices. Credit checks, security deposits and requiring accounts to be in good standing before unlocking are some protectionary measures. The Wireless Code should not take such rights away from service providers.”

Is the unlocking fee the same for iPhone and Android?My understanding is iPhone is more expensive to unlock due to Apple’s fees (?)

Will Maitner

What fee?

Rose

Carriers charge the same, but with third-party services there is certainly a price difference.

Ali F.

Yeh, the price difference is higher for iPones and lower for others.

It’s Me

Same if you go through the carrier.

gommer strike

If you buy from Apple and request an unlocked device, there are no fees.

Even if you buy the phone from Apple and it has to be a locked device, then it is the service provider/carrier that you deal with to unlock the phone, not Apple.

Brad Fortin

Unlocking an iPhone is the same price, it just takes a bit longer since it’s locked through Apple’s activation server and the carrier has to send an unlock request to Apple instead of issuing an unlock code.

Ali F.

It is not longer. I unlocked two Telus iPhone 6 and 6+ using Telus Chat. At the end of the chat session, both were instantly unlocked and I tested a Rogers SIM card in them. It is even no more needed to connect the iphone to iTunes like before. I do this quite frequently, on a condition that iPhone is activated for more than 90 days.

Word

iPhones are the only ones which I can actually support consumers using the carrier to do the unlock. $50 is actually quite fair for an iPhone compared to virtually any other device. I’ve unlocked dozens of phones from many different unlocking companies and iPhones are always crazy expensive this way, as little as $75 to as expensive as $150. On the flip side, carriers will charge you $50 to unlock a phone you could have paid $3 to unlock on ebay. They may not all be that cheap, but even $10 is obviously more fair than $50, which they also will charge you tax on.

Ali F.

iPhone are unlocked through Apple DB which means only carriers can submit the unlock request, hence the at least $50 fees. All other android devices are unlocked with a code that can be generated by an algorithm, hence the lower than carrier fees.

jsebean

You know I’ve been really disappointed with Eastlink in their tone compared to the other independent carriers. In fact, often times I find myself getting way more competitive deals from the big 3 & co providers than from them. I get our population in the east is smaller, but then again there isn’t as much area for them to cover either. I just wish they would try to compete a little in the wireless front, especially from someone who’s ineligible from getting any of their wireline services. It just feels like we don’t have the level of competition as seen in other parts of the country when it comes to wireless and the prices prove it.

Will Maitner

There should be no unlocking fee as you’ve more than paid for the phone through your contract. It should be free after the contract is completed. Make it a simple link on the billing site. Contract is done, click here to unlock your phone. Simple. Or make it part of the upgrading phones process when you stop at the store to upgrade, you get the unlock..

It’s Me

There shouldn’t be locks to begin with. Locks have nothing at all to do with contracts, which is why carriers lock phones even if you buy them from them off contract.

They don’t enforce the contract. All they are meant to do is ensure than you can’t use your phone elsewhere even while you continue to pay your contractual obligations.It’s a racket, plain and simple.

Service providers still have the cheaper rates compared to some other online or retail stores at least in my area. I was just in a local cell shop and someone called asking for their fee to unlock and he said $100…That’s crazy.

Victor Creed

You must work Bell, Telus or Rogers

Ali F.

That is for an iPhone for sure. Remember, unlocking an iPhone is mainly done through the carrier and then Apple DB. It is not an algorithm. There must be a person that works for Bell or Apple that should manually submit the unlock request (illegally). This person gets paid the regular $50 + tax + his fees (say $20) + the rest of the $100 for the third party unlocker. That is why it is $100. While all other devices are unlocked by a generated code that is entered directly on the phone. In most cases this can be generated by some algorithms so the cost is pretty much nothing.

Furthermore, if you look at unlock fees for AT&T iPhone, it is always less than $5, because AT&T charges $0 for unlock up to 5 times for each customer. So third party unlocked, gets the few dollars and submit the request through another AT&T personnel or persons who are with ATT.

I think the law should be simple…if a phone is purchased outright from any of the carriers it should not come locked… it’s kind of an add-on fee for the device… in other words the actual cost of buying a device outright from these carriers is the price they are charging plus the unlocking fee plus taxes. If these carriers chooses to sell locked devices outright, then they have to highlight clearly next to the price, the unlocking fee and total cost.

If a device is purchased on contract and / or tab, it may be a good idea to keep providing locked devices as it provides additional protection against run-away customers or stolen phones. However, after the end of contract / tab the device should be unlocked free of charge. Once contract / tab commitment is completed the device is legally owned by the customer but the lock keeps a restriction on the customer on where they can use it by the locking carrier. This is unfair.

Also everyone should realize most devices now (maybe all new devices) simply require a code to be entered on the phone to unlock it. No warranty-voiding procedure is needed to unlock a device. These carriers do not have to act like and should not be a gate keeper of devices owned by the customer (which is the case for devices not under contract / tab). In reality a customer owned device after end of contract / tab, does not get any support from the carrier anyways. They are not going to help you find it or replace it.

Laer

Freedom’s statement in the article was very clear to me. They said they don’t want lock fees but are bound by a weak market position. Seemed like they were straight up asking the CRTC to ban locks.

What value is any of this carrier optimization offer anyway? Locked phones, bloatware, and “signal optimization”

Now signal optimization is where the Carrier tweaks the number of bars you see so that it seems you actually have better signal strength then you do.

Just more BS getting shoved down consumers throats for our benefit.

gommer strike

Something the article doesn’t mention is the 3rd party unlockers which can be easily Googled and provide you unlock codes for a fraction of the price.

However. It should be understood that the databases which contain these unlock codes are not available to just anyone – they are typically only available to the providers(of course) and various businesses. The people who throw up these unlock code websites(or advertise themselves “silently” through RFD and other places such as ebay) are usually offshore call center agents who run a little business on the side for some extra cash.

This is the reason why when you buy an unlock code from the Internet, that there’s a bit of a delay before you get it. The agent has to either travel to the call center(or surreptitiously remote in one of the workstations) access the database, and get the code. That’s partly the reason why XDA developers doesn’t have a complete database dump for all their forumgoers to dive into, and for some reason rationalize it as “stealing” if they went that far.

Michael Jon Abrams

The other down fall to this is that manufactures of phones can see that it is unlocked through the software. If unlocked and not done through either manufacture or the carrier before your manufactures warranty is over you void your warranty. While the online options are cheaper and fairly easy it still voids your warranty. If the device comes from the manufacture unlocked you don’t have to worry about voiding that for wanting to use another carrier.

gommer strike

Well how it is different when unlocking from the carrier? Does the carrier tick off a box in the database that says “yup we did it, it’s official”?

They are retrieving the unlock codes the same way as if you went to the store for it.

Ali F.

Unlocking does not void warranty.

tarta70

It is a big Mafia and Politicians are in it. Customers are dumbs waiving money.

Ian

The unlocking fee is the carriers’ way to deter people from changing carriers. But the main deterrence that keeps me from changing carriers is that they’re all pretty much the same. I’m with Rogers and the level of dissatisfaction I read from customers of their competitors leads me to believe it’s not worth the hassle to change to Bell, Telus or others.

Ali F.

I fully agree. I have been trying to find better deal and service for my family but that is it, I reached the same conclusion. How unfortunate.

Bob Loblaw

An extortion fee charged by the telecommunications mafia of Canada aka Robellus.

MrQ

$2-4 unlock via various reliable 3rd party unlockers for various Android phones. I think Samsung even provides free unlock codes if you contact them.

Or just buy unlocked phones

Until Canadians keep being ignorant, the big companies will keep milking them

Samuel Gomez Recuero

There is really no need to keep the phones locked to a carrier after the period on which you are allowed to cancel your new contract and return the phone without further obligation on your part. After that period, you are legally bonded to pay the balance of the phone anyways. And then can easily make the phone unusable in Canada and probably USA too.

I know for a fact (at least with Samsung) that the phone natural state is to be unlocked. Phones sold to carriers (at least with the S7) come with a boot sequence that once the sim is inserted will make the phone reboot and then locked to that carrier.

It is funny how despite “competition” they all charge the same. I guess despite all the difference in how they make business the cost of it all is still the same at the bottom line. piece of crap!

jplunks

Just a Question, but wouldnt they do away or change the construct of offering phones through them on a contract if it could be used else where?

James Wii U 3DS

Is it really costing them 50$ for a simple code? No. Hey, have a free code generated by an algorithm: 1234567890. See? That costed 0$ to both you and I. No matter how complicated the algorithm is, the only cost would be a very small amount for energy consumption by the computing device and little paperwork.

ArclightX

We’re still talking about this in 2017?

Folks, just buy you mobile devices unlocked and outright from a 3rd party provider like Google, Expansys or Swappa or wherever and be done with it.

This feels like those “you should wear sunscreen” stories that come out at the start of every summer as if the topic had never previously covered before.

Buying your mobile device on contract from a service provider is the perfectly wrong thing to do and has been for years and years..

Shaun Conway

Since the carriers added the Canadian mobile blacklist, carrier locks are antiquated. If a user doesn’t pay their bill, blacklist the device, simple. Stop making the honest people pay this fee for the few that steal.

Whome

Phones should come unlocked.However since I don’t see that happening anytime soon.Phones should be unlocked by the carrier for free once the subsidy is paid. It’s just that simple.

hardy83

Yes, phones should be unlocked out of the box. No other option makes any sense from the consumers perspective.

The tying it to a contract makes no sense because even if the phone was unlocked, the customer is still bound to the contract. Whether the phone is locked or unlocked doesn’t change the fact the customer would have to end it’s contract early and face the penalties tied to it if they wanted to switch.

Same goes for buying it outright. There shouldn’t even have to be an extra hoop for consumers to go through to unlock a phone it they buy it outright.

ANY option aside from banning locking all together is not consumer friendly in any way, shape or form.

Whome

I don’t disagree but the cell phone companies aren’t consumer friendly in any way shape or form. Just like when your contract is over your monthly fee should go down as the phone is considered to be paid off. Therefore your monthly fee should go to the price of a BYOD plan.

jplunks

Once that happens, good luck on getting a phone on a contract… That will slowly happen with them not being able to lock phones

Ali F.

Unlocking fees for already paid cellphones is simply stealing our money. I bought the other day a fully paid iPhone locked to Bell from a BestBuy auction. I asked my friend who is with Bell to use it for a day and we called them to unlock it, they insisted on using it for 90 days before. The same with Rogers. So far I had better chance with Telus but all depends on the person you are talking with.